I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

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Suggested Teaching Instructions

 

Title: “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Write Me a Letter” is a lesson to introduce students to the conventions of letter writing, past and present, and to show students how letter writing has been used for various types of communications over the years. (Adapted from a former Edsitement lesson)

 Overview: 

The teacher will introduce students to a variety of historical letters and will help students do some real-world writing. Activity 1 provides context and motivation about letter writing in general; Activity 2 provides background on letter writing conventions. Start with these lessons the next time your students can write a letter to a genuine audience. Then use the appropriate lesson from the rest of the lessons to get students started on their letters.

 

 Goal: This lesson helps students improve their writing skills and vocabulary as well as gain an understanding that there are different situations requiring different ways of communicating with others.

Objectives:  

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

• List at least five conventions of letter writing.

• Cite at least five purposes for letter writing.

• Learn new vocabulary, including historical vocabulary.

• Send a letter (handwritten or electronically if the technology is available).

 

Investigative (Compelling) Question: Why does what we write (and what we say) matter?

 

 Time Required

Activity 1 and Activity 2 can be completed in one class period (45-60 minutes). Each of the other lessons can be completed in a single class period each.

 

Recommended Grade Range

Suggested grade levels: Middle school and Junior High School (grades 5-8)

 

Subject: ELA, Social Studies

 

Standards: The specific NYS and Next Gen standards that this lesson is designed to meet.

New York State Grades 9-12 Social Studies Framework

 

Credits: Heidi Ziemer

 

PREPARATION 

 

Materials Used: copies of historical letters from Consider the Source, New York Heritage, Library of Congress; Sample letters brought in by students (optional) and teacher; handout of a chart or checklist for letter writing conventions (customize as you wish).

 

Resources Used: see links below.

 

PROCEDURE

Description of Procedure: 

1. In preparation for Activity 1, ask your students to bring in copies of letters they have received (or sent) that they are willing to share with the class. If this is not possible, the teacher can choose to provide a selection of their own letters or use contemporary online examples that are freely available.

 

2.  Activity 1. “Read” Letter Day (Connect)

Begin by discussing students' personal experiences with letter writing. What kind of letters have they received? What letters have they written? Thank you notes? Letters from camp? Pen pal letters? To whom do they send letters? Who sends letters to the students? How many of the students keep the letters they receive, and if they do, why? Where can one readily find examples of contemporary letters? (The editorial pages of newspapers and magazines provide one example.) Do any students still write letters by hand, or do they only send "electronic" letters (e-mail) or texts? Do they consider it a little more special to receive a handwritten letter than to receive an e-mail? If students have brought in letters, allow time for sharing.

3. Activity 2. The Law of the Letter (Wonder)

Pass out to your class a selection of facsimiles of historical letters such as those listed below (you can also use any of the letters listed throughout the unit). Give the students time to look them over to learn whatever they can about them; they need not read them (some are handwritten, some with transcripts), although they can if they desire, and if time allows.

1. Post card from Mabel Hubbard Bell to Alexander Graham Bell, July 30, 1876, giving Bell an update on a recent trip. Several views of this letter are available: front, reverse and transcript. (Library of Congress)

2. Letter received by Abraham Lincoln, written by Grace Bedell from Westfield, NY, October 1860, encouraging Lincoln to “grow whiskers.” (Library of Congress)

3. Letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to Chief Cornplanter, from Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 1803, responding to a complaint from Cornplanter. (Library of Congress has original and transcript at Founders Online, National Archives)

4. Letter sent by Susan B. Anthony to Albion Tourgee, June 1890, inviting Tourgee to speak at the annual Women's Suffrage Congress meeting that year.  (New York Heritage)

5. Letter sent by Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) to Dr. Frank Darby, January 1888, thanking him for a gift.  (New York Heritage)

6. Post card from collection, “Historical Postcards from Sardinia, NY” 1912 (unknown sender/recipient; New York Heritage)

7. Letter from Thurgood Marshall to the NYS Commissioner of Education, written October 8, 1943, informing the latter of a memo being sent in a civil rights case. (Consider the Source)

8. Massachusetts Requests Grain from New York, February 15, 1779, letter from Jeremiah Powell (Massachusetts Council President) to Governor George Clinton of New York. Consider the Source)

9. Letter, George Lent to this Brother, April 29, 1932, letter from one brother to another during the Great Depression (Consider the Source)

10. Letter from Benjamin Wright, canal engineer, to canal commissioner Myron Holley, Rome, 1816, giving an update on progress of the (Erie) canal route (Consider the Source)

4. Closer Analysis: After students have had a chance to look over the letters, encourage discussion. Can anyone figure out the purpose of any of the letters (for example: responding to an invitation, congratulations, seeking information, thank you)? Does anyone recognize the person writing or receiving the letters? Can you tell from the structure or language of the letter anything about the sender, receiver, message? What words or expressions are unfamiliar to students?

5. Investigate: Students are given a handout chart or checklist of the conventions of letter writing. Explain to them that the context in which a letter is written is important in knowing what to include and how to structure what you say in your letter. However, there are a few conventions that are commonly used across different contexts.

 

As you work through the following letter-writing conventions, write each on the chalkboard or chart paper for future reference:

 

• Could anyone locate the name of the sender (even if they couldn't read it)? Why is that? (We have an expectation that the name of the sender will appear at the end of the text, an important convention of letter writing.)

• How many of the letters include the date written? Was the date easy to find? Where was it? Why are dates usually included? Do any of the letters NOT have the date?

• Does each letter have a greeting or salutation (the "Dear X" part of the letter)? Was it easy to find?

• Do any of the letters show the place from which they were sent? Do any have the complete address? Was the address easy to find? Where was it?

• Do any of the letters show the address to which they were sent? Was the address easy to find? Where was it? Why is this only in some letters? The address to which the letter was sent was obviously on the envelope, why does it need to be here?

• How is the letter formatted? What kind of paragraphing (if any)? Indented? Block style?

• How many letters had some sort of closing (such as "Sincerely")?

• Lastly, have students create a word wall in the classroom that lists the unfamiliar words and expressions found in the letters. Ask students to research the possible meanings after the teacher provides some time for discussion. Add to the word wall during subsequent lessons when a letter writing activity is introduced.

 

Activity 3. Getting Personal

Sometimes we write to someone simply because we can't speak to that person for one reason or another. Distribute copies of a letter from Emma Nielson's May Snowstorm Account, 1888. There is also a letter from George Lent to his Brother, March 16, 1931.

These letters are in the tradition of the friendly or personal letter. What conventions of letter-writing did each of the authors follow?

 

Activity 4. Big News

Sometimes we write to someone because something extraordinary has happened. Here is a Letter from Archibald Penny to his Mother July 2 and 4, 1863, written in the midst of the Battle of Gettysburg.

What happened to Archibald that day? How old does he seem? What evidence can students cite to support their assumptions? Does the letter contain any of the conventions? Does it contain any errors? How do you think Archibald would feel to know people are reading his letter more than 150 years after he wrote it? What would you have written back to Archibald if he had been your friend?

Students could try writing such a letter based around an historic event. Or, they can write a letter to a friend when something extraordinary happens in their community or at school, such as a “weather incident,” a field trip or a visit by a dignitary.

 

Activity 5. Thank You

It is customary to send a thank you letter upon receiving a gift or some form of recognition or award. It's expected that the letter will say more than just a thank you. Pass out the Letter to Dr. William Litterick from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., July 3, 1963, thanking the college president for his hospitality and presentation to Dr. King of a Doctor of Letters degree from the college. Click on the image for access to the entire document in a larger version.

Read the letter aloud. How did Dr. King thank Dr. Litterick? What conventions does the letter follow? Judging from the way he writes, what was the relationship between Dr. King and Dr. Letterick? Compare this to a more formal Certificate of Appreciation, New York Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, (to) Sam Velasquez, n.d. from some time after 1972. 

Students can write thank you notes when appropriate (for example, if they receive gifts from a visitor or another class, or receive an honorary award or recognition).

Activity 6. Compliments and Congratulations

When someone accomplishes something extraordinary, it is customary for friends and relatives to send a letter of congratulation. And an accomplishment on the part of a group effort is also often acknowledged with a letter of thanks. As with the thank you letter, simply saying congratulations is not enough. Pass out the transcript and image of a congratulatory message from the American Red Cross to high school boys from Cooperstown, NY: Cooperstown Boys Knit for the Front, World War I, 1918 (Letter)

Read the letter's contents aloud to the class. What does M. E. Baker add to their congratulations? What conventions does the letter follow? Judging from the way it is written, what was the relationship between Miss Merchant and M. E. Baker?

Students can write a letter of congratulations when, for example, another class puts on a successful play or embarks on a community service project like the one identified in this letter.

Activity 7. Getting More Formal: The Business Letter

In more formal situations (which are not always related to business), convention demands the use of the business letter format, with an inside address and a colon replacing the comma in the greeting. It also demands a more formal tone.

For example, this letter from Louis LeCouteaulx to Joseph Ellicott, written September, 1812, in which, despite the underlying urgency of the matter, Mr. LeCouteulx maintains the formal tone of a business request.

Similarly, here is an example of an exchange of letters between representatives from the States of New York and Massachusetts, February 15, 1779, regarding a request of grain shipments from the latter to the former.

What conventions do the letters follow? Help the students become aware of the formality of the prose such as, "Permit me to...." Students need not read the entire letter to understand the differences between these formal letters and a more informal note like the letter from Mark Twain to Dr. Dr. Frank Darby found in Activity 2 above.

Another example is found in the letter from Thurgood Marshall to the NYS Commissioner of Education, written October 8, 1943. Marshall, representing the NAACP at the time, is sending a legal document to the Commissioner to support an effort to desegregate the Hilburn schools.

Your students have several opportunities to write business letters, such as when requesting free materials from an individual or organization they may be studying.

Students may also wish to communicate with a political leader (local, state, national) about an issue they are interested in and seeking additional information.

Activity 8. An Invitation

What information does one need to include in an invitation? (The occasion, the date, the time, the place, any special advice such as what to bring or where to stay.)

Here is an informal invitation from Darwin Meserole to Edwin Markham, inviting Mr. Markham and his wife to join Mr. Meserole and others for lunch. What conventions does this simple form letter follow?

In contrast, we often see more formally written invitations such as this one, an Invitation to meet Horace Greeley on the occasion of his Sixty first Birthday in 1872.

The students don't need to be as formal as these examples in writing an invitation (for example, to parents inviting them to attend a class presentation or play), but they might want to imitate that formality for a very special occasion, just for the fun of doing it.

Activity 9. A Letter of Protest

Letters of protest are meant to convey your opinion on a certain matter. These letters should be clear and concise as well as respectful yet firm. Summarize the situation and state your concerns in a few short paragraphs, then back up your position with solid reasoning and facts. Explain how the matter affects you; personal stories are more effective and more likely to be taken seriously than lists or statistics.  Clearly state what action you expect the letter recipient to take, such as specific legislation or correction of a problem or situation. Note when you wish changes to occur and mention dates if the matter is deadline oriented. Request a reply that outlines the recipient's response and intended action. Provide your full name and contact information so a reply can be sent.

Here is an example of a letter from Mary A. Young to NYS War Council, Committee on Discrimination in Employment, 1942, NYC.

What conventions of letter writing did Mary Young follow? Notice the polite and understated tone of the letter.

If class members have some matter they would like to protest, they can write to their congressional representative through the EDSITEment-reviewed site CongressLink. Discuss with the class the conventions they should obey and the tone you feel is appropriate.

Activity 10. Letters of Condolence

Sending someone a letter of condolence can be difficult. Finding the right words to convey a heartfelt and sincere message takes effort, especially if you did not know the deceased personally. 

Here is a Condolence Letter Written by President Lincoln, 1864, in which the President of the United States is sending a message to the mother of five sons who all died during the Civil War. 

 

Activity 11. Postcards and E-Mail Postcards

Postcards remain a popular form of mail, and electronic postcards have also gained popularity. They can be used for both formal and informal messaging.

Here is a postcard from Mr. and Mrs. Magee to Governor Rockefeller, (1969?) and one of a Department Store in Sayville, Long Island, 1908.
How do postcards differ from letters? What conventions of letters do they obey?

Students can create their own postcards to send to friends and family using images from the Library of Congress, New York Heritage, and Consider the Source, following instructions found in a Library of Congress blog, “Make Your Own Postcard and Other Ways to Play with Free-to-Use Images.”

 

Extensions 

 

Extending the Lesson

• If the class can access technology in small groups, students can search for letters on specific topics of special interest, or letters written by specific individuals who have been or are being studied by the class. Groups can report to the class on the content of the letters and how they reflect the events or individuals involved. Using Consider the Source, the Library of Congress, or New York Heritage, students can search using the word "letter" and the name of a historical figure or event, or search manuscript collections with the word “Papers” in the title. For example, the Maris B. Pierce papers or the Lent Family Papers.

• Students can develop stories of historical fiction around a letter or series of letters, such as the Slave Letters Collection at Duke University or the University of Minnesota’s Digitizing Immigrant Letters. Fiction can also be written in the form of letters from characters in a book your students have read (for example, Freedom Crossing, by Margaret Goff Clark). Letters can also serve as powerful material for dramatic readings.

• The families of some students may preserve important correspondence. Students can conduct their own genealogical research through such letters. Why have their families kept such letters? How do they relate to important events in the family? 

 

EVALUATION

 

Teacher will ask students to:

• Construct: Construct new understandings connected to previous knowledge; draw conclusions about questions and hypotheses

• Express: Apply understandings to a new context and new situations; express new ideas to share learning with others

• Reflect: Reflect on own learning; ask new questions

 

The teacher will use opportunities throughout the year to ask students to review conventions of letter writing and have them write their own letters as an exercise in relation to a unit of study in English Language Arts or Social Studies or, in connection with a specific school event appropriate to the type of letter requested.